Music for the Films of Marlon Brando
Music composed by
Various Artists
Conducted by Nic Raines and Paul Bateman
Performed by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra
Available on Silva Screen (SILCD 1166)
Running Times:
[Disc 1]: 56:12
[Disc 2]: 50:28
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Silva has used an actor or director as a common thread
for a compilation CDs on several occasions. Names such as Stanley Kubrick,
Clint Eastwood, and now Marlon Brando have been featured. The Marlon Brando two
CD set has the distinct advantage of being able to offer a vast range of
different genre films. The films chosen for this set include not only the
blockbusters such as The Godfather, and On The Waterfront, but
lesser known Missouri Breaks and One-Eyed Jacks, films that can
offer the listener an opportunity to hear an unfamiliar John Williams or Hugo
Friedhofer theme. This is the strength of a compilation CD: a blend of
highlights from released and unreleased material. Among the latter: The Men,
One-Eyed Jacks, and The Wild One have yet to be given official
releases and other than a short suite such as this compilation there is nothing
available. (Please note - these are official releases.) The Young Lions to
my knowledge is an out-of-print Varese Sarabande release that could also prove
a challenge to find.

The playing order of the CD makes no sense to me other
than beginning with The Godfather. Why separate the other two Godfather
selections by 11 tracks? Offering the selections in a chronological order
starting with the earliest year (1950) would have made more sense. However,
this release is designed more for a Barnes and Noble shopper than a soundtrack
collector, so sequencing to spur on an impulse purchase is likely to have
played a role in the current track listing. Silva offers very reasonable values
in the marketplace and the person attracted to this will see the Marlon Brando
name, pick it up see Sayonara as an example, quickly relive a pleasant
memory and decide to put it on top of the book they are going to purchase.

This web site being more devoted to the soundtrack
collector poses a more interesting set of issues. For one, there is no mention
of location and when the recording was made. This if nothing else is often a
useful way to determine if any of the selections here were included on other
compilations performed by the City of Prague Philharmonic, Silva having offered
so many in the past. However, the identity of the orchestrators is valuable
information included by Silva. Did North actually create a Streetcar Named
Desire Suite, as is sometimes the case with classically-inclined composers?
(In this case, no. It was done by Mark McGurty.) The notes also include
conductor information, and this is useful to the collector. (One perhaps could
prefer Raines or Bateman as an example.) The liner notes carry the essentials.
They give a nice balance of film (though less adjectives and more meat and
potatoes would have been nice), Brando, and a little about the music itself.

The music itself is somewhat difficult to record, between
a rock-and-a-hard-place on some of the selections. Last Tango In Paris, A
Streetcar Named Desire, and On The Waterfront would have certainly
benefited from a "jazz oriented" saxophonist. However, with costs
being what they are today, that was likely considered, and dismissed. However,
as an example if you have ever listened to the original soundtrack by Gato
Barbieri, one should keep in mind that Gato was quite an accomplished saxophone
player and thus the OST is far superior. The same can be said about On the
Waterfront. This is a combination of jazz and classical and its difficult
in re-recordings for an orchestra to serve both masters. (Jazz musicians are
not comfortable in a classical situation either!) While the City of Prague Philharmonic gives it the good old college try, the Street Car Named Desire Suite
lacks the correct tempo, brilliance, and harshness that the original has to
offer. Had Rozsa's Julius Caesar not been known to me, one could hardly
tell he wrote it! Having said that, One-Eyed Jacks, The Men, The
Missouri Breaks and The Chase are all performed well. I cant help
but have mixed feelings about the disc as a whole.

In conclusion, what does one do? If you want an introduction to
unknown material, purchase this bargain without hesitation. (And it is a
bargain, with two CDs for the price of one  the consumer is getting a good
deal here.) The more seasoned collector should pass.